The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-07-07
THE PARRICIDE.
An Legitimate Ofspring's Con-
fession.

~ Murders His Father and Mother in a
n Frenzy-Before the Bar Of Justice the Gull
prit Tells How He Was Spurned and
Abandoned.
Translated for ne Cincinnati Enquirer from the
French Of Guy de Maupassant by E. G. Wsg-
gener.l
The advocate had pleaded insanity.
How otherwise explain the strange
'Drimep They found them one morn
ing. two corpses, clasped in each.
others arms, and lying in the marsh
near Chaton. carried there by the
Seine-this man and woman, rich, well
known, in the prime of life, and mar
RED only the preceding year, though
t the time of the marriage the wife
had been a widow more than three
years. No n knew Of them having
any enemies. and they had certainly
2ot been robbed. It looked as if they
might have been thrown into the river
from . passing barge. after having
been struck and stoned or killed with
some sort Of sharp iron instrument.
The inquest had
FAILED TO DEVELOP
A cleW, and the boatmsn of the neigh
oorhood, though closely interrogated,
snew nothing either. The inquiry was
about to be abandoned as useless, when
i young carpenter from an adjoining
Village by the name of Georges Louis,
l;cknamed lie Bourgeois" came into
Chaton and gave himself up as the
murderer. b..
To all their questioning. however, he
Dnly replied that he had known the
nan for two years, the woman for six
months; they were customers of his and
frequently came to him to have antique
furniture repaired, because he was
known to be exceedingly skillful at the
work.
land your reason for killing themp"
Simply because I wanted to kill
ihem," and they were unable to draw
from him another word.
1.-THE prisoner" said the village Cos
sips ..was a natural child, put out to
nurse and then abandoned" But wheth-
or he was or not. he had no other name
than Georges Louis, or LIE Bourgeois,
q title ironically bestowed upon him by
his comrades because Of his rare inteli-
gence and native refinement, SO out of
keeping with their own tastes and his
surroundings. He was certainly re-
markably adrlot at the work of joinery,
tile trade he had adopted. He also
carevd a little In wood, aud was known
to be an ardent partisan of Communis-
tic doctrines, perhaps even a Nihilist,
an Unsuitable reader of romantic adven-
lures and bloody dramas, and a ready
speaker at the public meetings of work
men and peasants. Such was the his
tory Of Georges Louis, a murder by his
own confession, at the time the trial
opened.
The advocate, as stated at the out
set, had pleaded insanity. 1t was the
only possible explanation of the crime,
and Of the fact that this workman had
killed two of his best patrons, wealthy
and liberal to a fault in all their deal
ings with him, for he had admitted
having done for them a great deal of
expensive work in the past few months,
and for no reason at all save that he
.'wanted to kill tkem." Yes, insanity
was undoubtedly the cause of it. The
fixed idea of a strange. irresponsible
being to ayenge himself upon individ-
ulls, for his hatred of the mass showed
itself in every detail of this uncalled-
for murder, and the advocate made a
skillful allusion in support of his theory
to the name lie Bourgeois, bestowed by
his comrades upon the abandoned one.
at is not a sarcasmp" he cried, "a
sarcasm calculated to excite still more
this unfortunate youth, this child with
out father aud without mother, this en-
thnsiastic republican,, as he was known
to beP Perhaps he was more than this
perhaps he was a. member of the
political party that until the present
TIME was S
TREATED TO BULLETS,
Daggcr-thrusts and sentences to trans
portation for life-a party in which
arson is a principle and a murderer a
q simple means. These doctrines, as
now proclaimed in open meeting, have
destroyed this man. He has listened
to red-handed republicans, to women
eveh-yes messieurs. to women-cry-
ing for the life Of Gambetta, for the
life Of arevy, until his mind has be-
come upset. his reasons dethroned and
he has thirsted for blood-yes, fol-
blood. But 1t Is not upon him that the
blame should be laid; It is not he upon
whom condemnation should fall-it il
tie Commnne-the Commune that is
the cause OF all
As tho advocate concludeda murmul
Of applause q through the Court
Every one felt that he had won
his callse, and the Prosecuting Attor.
nev attempted no reply.
Accused said tho judge at last, nd,
dressing the customary question to the
prisoner, accused have you ought tc
say in your defence e.
The prisoner, a small man in statue,
white as linen. and with eyes gray,
clear and intelligent 81 to his feet,
the. strong aud sonorous voice, coming
from SO frail q body, changing at once
the opinion that had been formed o
him, He spoke loudly, with delibera,
ton and d~icision, md 80 d~istinctly thai
Bis slightest word made itself audible
to the farthest end Of the mammoth
hall.
mons. President, q said he, ..asI de
no wish 10 90 into . house for fools q
hnadmen, but
PREFER THE GUMLOTINE,
i Will tell youseyery thing. / killed this
man and this woman. assI,ve already
adnlitted, and killed them because theJ
Mere my father and my neither. Now
listsn to me and Judge me. Once upor
Atine md not long ago. adwoInan gave